


Nico's own happiness

by Ash0605



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Honestly the anime did her so dirty, Love Confessions, Nico is really epic, Tags Are Hard, There are sweary words, birthday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25451725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash0605/pseuds/Ash0605
Summary: A day with her friends at Hanayo's house already holds significance as the last day of relaxation before the Love Live finals. An early morning love confession makes it even more so as Nico learns to prioritise her own happiness.Happy Birthday Nico!
Relationships: Nishikino Maki/Yazawa Nico
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	Nico's own happiness

The cold air of the night froze Nico’s skin as she stood out on the balcony looking up at the sky. Feeling the bite of the cold and observing the empty light polluted sky were the best methods Nico had come up with to keep herself awake. The members of µ’s had spent the day at Hanayo’s house, making full use of Hanayo’s collection of idol DVD’s while stuffing themselves with snacks. The fast-approaching Love Live finals gave this day significance; it would probably be the last day the girls could truly relax. Nico was more than happy to reside in the afterglow of the day, as doing so allowed her to avoid the impossible question of what happens next.

The sound of footsteps behind her snapped her out of her stupor. She turned around to see her red-haired junior slowly leave the house and stand next to her. Her confident reserved appearance was betrayed by her tiredness, but her purples eyes sparkled in the usual way Nico had come to appreciate.

“Morning Maki-chan!” Nico beamed. “You’re up past your bedtime!”

“I could say the same about you.” Maki countered bluntly. “I just came out for some air.” She rubbed her eyes and let out a cute yawn despite her best efforts.

Nico smiled smugly. “Do you need me to tuck you in and read you a story?”

“I’m 16 years old Nico-chan. My parents don’t even do that anymore.”

“So you’re saying your parents did do that?” came Nico’s response, which was a much better comeback than the _‘Says the girl who believes in Santa’_ she was contemplating.

“When I was really young.” A faint blush illuminated Maki’s face. “Though, I… genuinely wouldn’t mind you reading something like that to me one day.”

“Aww Maki-chan~! Honestly, I would love to. I read my siblings so many brilliant tales!”

Maki chuckled softly. “Are you sure you don’t just read them things that make you look better?”

“That hurts Maki-chan!” Nico replied, clutching her chest mockingly. “Though, seriously I’ll read one to you sometime if you want.”

Maki turned her head, her purple eyes meeting Nico’s. “I’d like that a lot actually.” she smiled.

The pair then broke their contact, remaining in contemplative silence. Nico’s eyes darted from looking at the girl next to her to looking up at the sky, hoping that would make her staring less suspicious. The way Maki looked down at the ground below. The way she folded her arms and tapped her fingers on the bannister. The fact that the blush from before hadn’t left Maki’s face, but had instead intensified. Maki’s restlessness didn’t just come from weariness, and it made Nico quite concerned about what else was bothering her.

“Hey, Nico-chan,” started Maki. “You… know when I said I came out here because I needed some air? That’s… not the only reason I came out here.” The volume of her voice had decreased, though it was still audible.

“Is that so…” Nico replied, her voice trailing off. She rubbed her hands together.

“Yeah. I actually wanted to tell you something.” Maki turned her head, though was unable to make direct contact. “Will you bear with me?”

Nico gave an encouraging nod, masking her rising sense of nervousness with a grin. “S-sure!”

Maki nodded in response. She creased her brow and bowed her head, tapping the tips of her fingers together. A few moments later she rose her head. “I… really admire you as a person.” she started. “You’re such a good leader for the club, you’re so resourceful. I… admire your cooking too. You’re so dedicated to making others smile. Its… incredible.”

“M-Maki-chan!” Nico stammered. “W-where are you going with this?”

“I’ll just come out and say it!” Maki attested. She made eye contact with Nico. “I love you!”

Nico forgot to breath for a moment, the shock hitting her seconds later. “W-w-what?” she gasped.

“It’s true. I-I have this tight feeling in my stomach whenever I’m near you. I love your singing voice! I listen to your solos over and over on repeat! I love how your bangs aren’t even! I-I’ve kept myself up at night thinking about your red eyes and your-”

“Enough.”

“I-I’m sorry!” Maki apologized. “You probably weren’t expecting anything like this but I needed to get this off my chest before you grad- “

“Shut up!”

Maki’s eyes widened and tears formed in their corners. “Y-y-you don’t feel the same way?” she stammered.

Nico rubbed her head, letting out a sigh too shaky for her liking. “The way I feel doesn’t matter. I’m an idol, Maki-chan.”

“I-I think the way you feel is important- “

“It really isn’t. Idols can’t date and that’s all there is to it.”

“Nico-chan please!” Maki pleaded desperately. “Please… at least tell me how you feel! I know idols can’t date but you don’t understand how hard this was for me!”

Nico stared at Maki, holding back her own tears and steeling her expression. “Don’t you dare talk to me about misunderstanding. You don’t understand how important idols are to me!” Nico berated. “I’ve been trying to be one all my life! It’s all I’ve ever wanted!” Nico felt her fists ball up. “You know, my dad died when I was really young. He was really struggling, but do you want to know when he was happiest?! When he was watching me imitate the idol shows on TV! That’s the power idols have! My mom and dad gave me this name so I could spread happiness to everyone in the world, and with that in mind my feelings mean nothing!”

Nico instantly regretted her harshness when she heard Maki start sobbing. She looked down to see her crouched down, trembling with her head in her hands.

“Hey, I’m sorry for being so harsh.” Nico apologized, stooping down and reaching out a hand to comfort Maki.

Maki shuffled away. “Stay away from me.” she warned quietly.

“But Maki-cha- “

“Stay away from me!” she exclaimed, using one hand to feebly push Nico away.

Nico stood up and looked around panickily, hoping that the solution to the mess she had caused was somewhere in her surroundings. She didn’t notice any solutions, but she did notice a woman leaning against the doorway. Upon being noticed she moved onto the balcony, rendering her solemn facial expression, her light purple eyes and her brown ponytail visible.

“Forgive me for not letting you know I was here earlier.” she apologized. “I heard Maki-san all over the house trying to find you. You two were quite loud too, but you didn’t wake any of your friends up.”

Nico regarded Hanayo’s mother with suspicion. “What are you doing up so late?”

“I don’t go to bed as early as I should.” she replied. “I heard Maki-san moving around the house as I was going to bed myself and I followed her here.”

Pressing her hands against her forehead, Nico let out a shaky sigh. “So you overheard everything?” she fretted.

“Unfortunately, yes. I will say one thing. Out of all the idol hopefuls I’ve seen in my life, you might just be the most dedicated.”

“I don’t need that crap.” Nico fumed. “If you’re not going to give me ideas on how to solve this then I’d rather you just leave.”

“You say that as if the answer isn’t obvious.” Hanayo’s mother countered calmly. “All you really need to do is tell Maki how you feel.”

“Didn’t you just hear me?!” Nico retorted angrily. “I’m a school idol, so my romantic feelings don’t matter!”

“Well I’m a former idol, and I can say with experience that they absolutely do.” countered Hanayo’s mother.

Nico clenched her fists. “Bullshit. Don’t even TRY tell me that’s for real.”

“Well, prepare to have your socks knocked off.” She stepped back and took a few deep breaths before giving Nico a wide smile. “Hey everyone! Thank you so much for coming to see me today! I’m Kaede Koizumi and I’m going to give you a performance you won’t forget!” she exclaimed, flashing dual peace signs with her hands. After finishing she looked down, a faint red hue on her cheeks. “Man it’s been so long since I did that. I hope I didn’t wake anyone else up…”

Nico gasped, slapping her hands over her mouth. “Y-y-you’re Kaede Koizumi?!” Muttering the word ‘Koizumi’ had an electric effect on her. She had never given any thought to one of her best friends and one of the idols she looked up to having the same family name. “I-I genuinely had no idea!”

“You changed your tune quickly. “Kaede deadpanned. “Would you be more open to telling Maki your feelings now?”

“W-wait!” Nico objected desperately. “Perhaps this is not my place to ask, but you were on top of the idol world! Why did you get with a cameraman from your agency? You lost everything!”

Kaede furrowed her brow, placing a hand on her chin. “It’s a weird question, sure. But in a situation like this I’ll make an exception.” She sat down in front of Nico, beckoning her to sit as well. She also extended an invitation to Maki, who moved next to Nico with tears still falling. “When people ask why idols are prohibited from dating, the main answer PR people and idols give is that they belong to everybody, and that their fans happiness is their happiness. At first, every idol thinks such a justification is reasonable, for some reason or other. However, months or years down the line they realize that the love from their fans isn’t enough. It doesn’t ease their loneliness, or act as a substitute for romantic love. If you asked me at the time why I approached that cameraman, I would have replied ‘because I thought I could get away with it.’ Now, my answer is because I wanted my own happiness.”

Nico nodded, but took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before speaking. “Did you get your own happiness?” she asked curiously.

Kaede smiled and nodded. “I did. I was happy after seeing the applause I got from live shows, but that can never compare to the joy of marrying the man I love, or watching my daughter grow up. If the world gave me a second chance at being an idol, I’d end up doing it all over again.”

“I think I understand.” Nico’s body drooped. Her anger had completely subsided by now.

“It’s ok if you don’t understand fully. It took Hanayo years to understand what I mean.” Kaede chuckled. “You know, the world really needs more selfless people like you, but you need to make sure you don’t spend yourself thinking of others. You can derive satisfaction from helping others of course, but it can never compare to the happiness you can create for yourself. You deserve to think about your own happiness, and that’s why your feelings matter.”

Nico felt tears slide down her cheeks. “I get it but,” Nico hesitated. “I made Maki-chan feel so bad earlier. Do I… still deserve it?”

“You do!” Maki exclaimed, surprising the others. “You deserve to be able to tell me how you feel, even if you don’t feel the same way! I understand why you thought the way you did, and I forgive you!” she reassured.

Nico broke her eye contact with the other girls, directing her attention everywhere else in an attempt to find her words. The other two sat patiently, intending to silently encourage her to take her time. After a few minutes of furrowing her brow and narrowing her eyes in thought, she looked up and into Maki’s purple eyes.

“Maki-chan,” Nico started, a blush forming on her face immediately. “In a lot of ways… you complete me. You’re everything I’m not. You’re smart, mature, talented and sophisticated. You’ve got a great figure and I admire your music and singing so much. I think I… I love you too.”

Maki started sobbing again, but she couldn’t hold back her smile as she cried with joy. She rushed into Nico’s arms as Nico tightened her arms around her, bringing her into a warm embrace. The pair could only focus on the bubbly sensation of finally being with each other, so it took them a while to register the chuckling of the woman beside them.

“This kind of stuff warms my heart!” Kaede gushed. “I swear this is what you think of when it comes to textbook romance!”

Raising an eyebrow, Nico tilted her head curiously. “Hold on, how did your confession go?” 

Kaede chuckled nervously. “The less I say about that the better! I won’t bore you lovebirds for any longer.” She stood up from her sitting position and gave a gentle smile as she entered the house again. “Make sure not to stay up too late!”

Nico and Maki returned their attention to each other as the sound of footsteps faded away beside them. The pair snuggled together, shielding each other from the cool air of the night as they looked up at the sky.

“Hey Maki-chan,” Nico asked after an immeasurable length of time. “Are you sure I’m good enough to be cuddling here with you?”

“I wouldn’t be cuddling you otherwise.” Maki answered immediately.

Nico buried her head into the crook of Maki’s neck slowly, giving her time to push her away if she wanted. She was surprised to feel a hand rub her head lovingly, Maki’s slender fingers exploring and stroking her hair. “I suppose it was a stupid question.”

“It really was. You can be selfish for once you know? You deserve to have me all to yourself.” Maki reassured, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head.

Nico let out the biggest smile she was capable of, though it was buried in the crook of Maki’s neck. “I think I’ll take you up on that.” she laughed. Nico pulled away from Maki’s neck, looking at Maki with wide loving eyes before putting a chaste kiss on her lips.

**Author's Note:**

> GOD THE ANIME DID NICO SO DIRTY!!! Imagine having really interesting school idol diaries and a really interesting backstory, yet still being relegated to meme status because the anime adaptation decided that fanservice groping, Kotori being a maid and an episode about dieting were more important.
> 
> I apologise for ranting! Despite how fun she is to meme sometimes, I think we need to understand that Nico deserves the world and her own happiness, because she will go the mile for everyone else she loves. I shouldn't forget Maki either! Shes pretty epic! I can't believe it took me this long to write NicoMaki.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you have any comments or feedback feel free to leave it here!
> 
> I hope you have a good rest of your day and I wish the best in staying safe!
> 
> EDIT - The number in this fic contains '25' at the start and end. Very Epic.


End file.
